You're watching Brave Bird up the worst set on NDUbers.
[SET]
Offensive (Ho-Oh) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Atk / 56 SpD / 12 Spe OR 176 Atk / 172 Def / 160 Spe
Tera Type: Ground / Fire
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire / Flare Blitz
- Brave Bird / Earthquake
- Earthquake / Defog
- Toxic / Flame Charge / Defog / Thunder Wave
[SET COMMENTS]
- Sacred Fire and Brave Bird act as consistent, powerful STAB moves that are able to put out huge damage versus many threats in the tier like Necrozma-DM, letting Ho-Oh break down teams over the course of the game with repeated attacks.
- Flare Blitz is an option over Sacred Fire for its higher power, more PP, and a lower chance to accidentally burn Eternatus on teams with paralysis support or burning Mega Salamence, which may be able to use the burn to net a deadly boost to its Facade. The recoil can be quite detrimental to Ho-Oh when it's staying in for longer periods of time, however.
- Earthquake is a coverage option that allows Ho-Oh to hit Eternatus for far more damage than just its STAB moves would facilitate, having an extremely high roll to 2HKO even maximum specially defensive variants while also being able to nail Primal Groudon much harder than any of its other moves. Defog may be considered if the team is still in need of a defogger; it does, however, give up a powerful means of pressuring the opponent and makes Ho-Oh much more reliant on teammates to break through Eternatus.
- The fourth moveslot is flexible and it depends on the team's needs. Toxic invalidates many checks such as support Arceus formes, Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, and Zygarde.
- Flame Charge can be used with an alternative spread of 176 Atk / 172 Def / 160 Spe with an Adamant nature to avoid being OHKOed by Zacian-C's Wild Charge at +1 and outspeed Marshadow at +1 Speed, as well as outspeeding Adamant Necrozma-DM before any Flame Charge boosts.
- Thunder Wave is also a valid choice to allow Ho-Oh to more immediately slow down targets such as Eternatus, Mega Salamence, Arceus formes, and Palkia-O.
- The given primary EVs allow Ho-Oh avoid the 2HKO from a +1 Dynamax Cannon from Eternatus (RC) and outspeed paralyzed Zacian-C, while the rest of the EVs are allocated to Attack to allow Ho-Oh to hit as hard as possible.
- Tera Ground is the primary option to allow Ho-Oh to OHKO Meteor Beam Eternatus and make Earthquake far more threatening for Primal Groudon. Tera Ground also comes with the added benefit of removing Ho-Oh's weakness to Stealth Rock, thus making Ho-Oh far less afraid of losing its Heavy-Duty Boots to Knock Off, which is especially notable when Defog is chosen.
- Tera Fire is also an option to boost Flare Blitz damage, and it is the preferred option with the move, closing important gaps such as 2HKOing maximum HP support Arceus formes after Stealth Rock and outright OHKOing offensive Necrozma-DM from full.
- Don't be afraid to switch Ho-Oh into targets that it's typically able to check like specially offensive Giratina-O and Arceus-Fairy to force them out and start making progress.
- Ho-Oh gains significant advantages from entry hazard stacking. In fact, although its damage output remains formidable, Brave Bird often fails to achieve certain benchmarks, such as securing a 2HKO against Bulky Calm Mind Primal Kyogre or support Arceus formes, without additional support. This means it often finds itself on bulky offense teams that can consistently get up entry hazards and maintain them throughout a the game.
- Offensive Stealth Rock or Spikes variant of Primal Groudon makes for a great teammate, being able to set up entry hazards for both itself and Ho-Oh, appreciating the many status conditions Ho-Oh is capable of spreading to ease setup with Swords Dance. Primal Kyogre also has great synergy with Ho-Oh offensively, greatly appreciating the heavy damage Ho-Oh gets on targets like specially defensive Eternatus and Primal Groudon so Primal Kyogre can blow massive holes into the opposing team and vice versa.
- Zacian-C is a deadly partner, capable of sweeping entire teams with the prior damage Ho-Oh can inflict on many of its main checks such as Primal Groudon and Coil Zygarde while being able to put immense pressure on most variants of defensive Necrozma-DM.
[SET CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/neonjolteonwasused.568778/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/bobsican.434487/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/entrocefalo.399174/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zastra.558636/
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